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Paper abstract:

Kazakhstan is a complex environment for studying reforms concerning teachers and their assessment systems (attestation). In recent years, public education policy reforms have drastically changed the way teachers are assessed (Ayubayeva, 2018). These reforms, along with growing public attention, resulted from a widespread recognition that traditional teacher assessment systems did not promote teachers' careers and did not provide for financial compensation. Teacher appraisal (attestation) was first introduced back in the days of the USSR and served as a "test of knowledge." In addition, an appraisal system is a tool for monitoring the quality of teacher education based on national test scores and overall student quality (OECD, 2014). Most importantly, the old attestation system was complicated by additional bureaucratic procedures, which, in turn, gave rise to corruption. Thus, the government launched a new attestation mechanism, which NIS and international partners developed (Kanayeva, 2019). The most important innovation of the new appraisal system is the implementation of the National Qualification Testing (from now on referred to as NQT), that is, computer-based testing. The NQT is a high-stake test, as only after passing successfully can the teacher apply for the second stage. After careful literature review, very few academic articles have been written (except for Pak, 2020 on teacher appraisal system in NIS schools) on computer-based testing (NQT) as a teacher appraisal tool in Kazakhstan. This study aims to uncover Kazakhstani teachers' perceptions and beliefs about the newly implemented appraisal system. In order to understand the complexity of the teacher appraisal phenomenon and get a deeper understanding, a mixed method of research was used. As quantitative data, a survey was conducted for the month of 2021 among teachers who had experience taking the test. Six hundred sixty-seven responses were collected and analyzed. As quantitative data, six interviews were conducted with teachers from different geographical regions of Kazakhstan. Ultimately, the NQT has been implemented to minimize corruption and increase teachers' status. However, in the NQT questions focused on theory rather than practical implications, lack of clear guidelines for reliability and validity of tests, absence of piloted tests, and insufficient informational support have been the main barriers to the successful implementation of teacher assessment in Kazakhstan.